Search

In this study, the oils of Abelmoschus esculentus, Peganum harmala, and Aquilaria agallocha grown in different regions of Muğla, Türkiye were obtained using the cold pressing and maceration techniques. The oils were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine their fatty acid compositions. Thirty-seven fatty acids were detected. Palmitic acid (C16:0), linoleic acid (C18:2), and oleic acid (C18:1 cis-9) were the major components in all oils. Additionally, the anti-diabetic activity of the oils was screened against a-amylase and a-glycosidase, which are the related enzymes to diabetes mellitus. Promising results regarding anti-diabetic activity for Aquilaria agallocha oils were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, illegal felling of and damage to the incense tree Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Spreng. have been reported in Hong Kong. Their native populations are under increasingly severe threat. Therefore, the development of a standard and efficient method to classify and document wounds on vulnerable trees is urgently needed for conservation purposes. In this study, photogrammetry was used to document wounds in A. sinensis through 3D modeling. A total of 752 wound records from 484 individual A. sinensis trees from Hong Kong were included to establish a new wound classification system. Our major findings include a novel standardized procedure for photogrammetric documentation and a wound classification system. The results of this study will facilitate A. sinensis conservation, by enhancing wound documentation and information transfer to law enforcement and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood oil is one of the costliest essential oils used in perfumery, medicine and aroma. Production of the oil traditionally involves a soaking/fermentation step. Studies have indicated a definite role of the diverse microorganisms growing during the open soaking step, and in the emergent aroma of the essential oil. However, the temporal nature of fermentation and a key functional aspect i.e., the enzymatic properties of the microbes from the fermentation basin have not been studied yet. A total of 20 bacteria and 14 fungi isolated from fermentation basins located in Assam, India, at different soaking periods classified as early (0–20 days), medium (20–40 days) and late (40–60 days) clearly pointed towards an early fungal domination followed by succession of bacteria. The physico-chemical transformations of the wood are controlled by enzymatic properties (cellulase, xylanase, amylase and lipase) of the isolates. The results indicated a strong lignocellulosic substrate modulation potential in the four isolates, viz- Purpureocillium lilacinum (0.354 mg/mL), Mucor circinelloides (0.331 mg/mL), Penicillium citrinum (0.324 mg/mL) and Bacillus megaterium (0.152 mg/mL). The highest culturable abundance (CFU/mL) was found in M. circinelloides (2 × 109) among fungi and B. megaterium (4.5 × 109) among bacteria. The highest cellulase activity was shown by P. lilacinum (0.354 mg/mL) while xylanase and lipase by M. circinelloides (0.873 and 0.128 mg/mL). An interesting revelation was that a substantial proportion of the isolates (70% bacteria and 78% fungi) were positive for lipase activity. This is the first report on the "culturable microbiome" of the agarwood fermentation basin from a temporal and functional bioactivity perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, illegal felling of and damage to the incense tree Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Spreng. have been reported in Hong Kong. Their native populations are under increasingly severe threat. Therefore, the development of a standard and efficient method to classify and document wounds on vulnerable trees is urgently needed for conservation purposes. In this study, photogrammetry was used to document wounds in A. sinensis through 3D modeling. A total of 752 wound records from 484 individual A. sinensis trees from Hong Kong were included to establish a new wound classification system. Our major findings include a novel standardized procedure for photogrammetric documentation and a wound classification system. The results of this study will facilitate A. sinensis conservation, by enhancing wound documentation and information transfer to law enforcement and education.

The plastid is an essential organelle for its role in photosynthesis and energy production and its genomic information is always employed as important evolutionary markers to explore the relationship among species. Agarwood (Aquilaria), prized for its aromatic blend, finds extensive use in various cultures as incense and perfume. Despite its high economic importance, the phylogenetic status among Aquilaria based on plastomes remains ambiguous due to the lack of available plastomic resources. To bridge this knowledge gap, 22 Aquilaria plastomes were newly sequenced, similar variation patterns in this genus were determined, including a shared 16 bp extension of the rps19 gene and seven highly variable regions. The analysis highlighted the highest prevalence of the A/T motif among simple sequence repeats in these plastomes. Further phylogenetic analysis revealed Aquilaria's phylogenetic implications with an expanded dataset. This comprehensive plastomic resource not only enhances our understanding of Aquilaria evolution but also presents potential molecular markers for DNA barcoding.

Respiratory burst oxidase homolog (Rboh) generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a defense response during biotic and abiotic stress. In Aquilaria plants, wounding and fungal infection result in biosynthesis and deposition of secondary metabolites as defense responses, which later form constituents of fragrant resinous agarwood. During injury and fungal invasion, Aquilaria tree generates ROS species via the Rboh enzymes. Despite the implication of Rboh genes in agarwood formation, no comprehensive genomic-level study of the Rboh gene family in Aquilaria is present. A systematic illustration of their role during stress and involvement in initiating signal cascades for agarwood metabolite biosynthesis is missing. In this study, 14 Rboh genes were retrieved from genomes of two Aquilaria species, A. agallocha and A. sinensis, and were classified into five groups. The promoter regions of the genes had abundant of stress-responsive elements. Protein-protein network and in silico expression analysis suggested their functional association with MAPK proteins and transcription factors such as WRKY and MYC2. The study further explored the expression profiles of Rboh genes and found them to be differentially regulated in stress-induced callus and stem tissue, suggesting their involvement in ROS generation during stress in Aquilaria. Overall, the study provides in-depth insight into two Rboh genes, AaRbohC and AaRbohA, highlighting their role in defense against fungal and abiotic stress, and likely during initiation of agarwood formation through modulation of genes involved in secondary metabolites biosynthesis. The findings presented here offer valuable information about Rboh family members, which can be leveraged for further investigations into ROS-mediated regulation of agarwood formation in Aquilaria species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory burst oxidase homolog (Rboh) generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a defense response during biotic and abiotic stress. In Aquilaria plants, wounding and fungal infection result in biosynthesis and deposition of secondary metabolites as defense responses, which later form constituents of fragrant resinous agarwood. During injury and fungal invasion, Aquilaria tree generates ROS species via the Rboh enzymes. Despite the implication of Rboh genes in agarwood formation, no comprehensive genomic-level study of the Rboh gene family in Aquilaria is present. A systematic illustration of their role during stress and involvement in initiating signal cascades for agarwood metabolite biosynthesis is missing. In this study, 14 Rboh genes were retrieved from genomes of two Aquilaria species, A. agallocha and A. sinensis, and were classified into five groups. The promoter regions of the genes had abundant of stress-responsive elements. Protein–protein network and in silico expression analysis suggested their functional association with MAPK proteins and transcription factors such as WRKY and MYC2. The study further explored the expression profiles of Rboh genes and found them to be differentially regulated in stress-induced callus and stem tissue, suggesting their involvement in ROS generation during stress in Aquilaria. Overall, the study provides in-depth insight into two Rboh genes, AaRbohC and AaRbohA, highlighting their role in defense against fungal and abiotic stress, and likely during initiation of agarwood formation through modulation of genes involved in secondary metabolites biosynthesis. The findings presented here offer valuable information about Rboh family members, which can be leveraged for further investigations into ROS-mediated regulation of agarwood formation in Aquilaria species.

Neurozerra conferta Walker is the principal Lepidopteran pest found associating with the Aquilaria trees in fragrant agarwood formations. Agarwood obtained through the involvement of this insect is reportedly superior in quality, with fine fragrance, high in demand and with higher market value. The role of this insect in conferring agarwood formation is obscure. The infestation by N. conferta essentially opens a gateway for microbial infection, which is the fundamental basis for agarwood formation. The bacterial diversity is also reportedly found to be higher in insect infested agarwood. For the first time, a culture dependent approach was made to isolate bacteria from the gut of N. conferta. A total of 10 bacteria were isolated that belong to families Enterobacteriaceae, Yersiniaceae and Pseudomonadaceae. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed the gut bacteria diversity composed of Enterobacter roggenkampii, E. cloacae, E. asburiae, Serratia marcescens, S. nematodiphila, Klebsiella oxytoca, K. variicola, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Raoultella ornithinolytica, and Citrobacter freundii. A screening for enzyme activity revealed, S. marcescens with the highest cellulase and xylanase activity, while K. variicola showed highest lipase activity. Being closely associated with gut of the larvae of N. conferta these isolates with important enzyme potentials can be involved in the formation of agarwood resin which can lead to newer insights on agarwood aroma which is still not clearly understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are seven species of Gyrinops and two species of Aquilaria (Thymelaeaceae), which are distributed in Eastern Indonesia at the east of the Wallace line. The anatomical character of the paradermal tissue, midrib and petiole were the important characteristics possessed by plants that can be used as data for identification. The purpose of this article was to study leaf morphoanatomical character variation of Gyrinops and Aquilaria in Indonesia Region at East Wallace Line. The Gyrinops specimen used in the research was the collection of the Agarwood Study Center, Universitas Mataram, Mataram, Indonesia. The paradermal slide was made with the whole-mount slide method and the slide cross-section of midrib and petiole was made by using a hand-free section. Their preparation process used a permanent slide method and mounted with glycerine jelly. Based on the results of the research conducted, it can be seen that the anatomical characters of paradermal tissues, midrib and petiole of Gyrinops and Aquilaria have general characteristics such as hypostomatic leaves, stomata type anomocytic, non-glandular and unicellular trichome. While other characters of structure paradermal, midrib and petiole could be used as a taxonomy diagnostic marker to identify at the level genus and species on Gyrinops and Aqilaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood, also known as Oud in perfumery, is a wood modified through contact with microorganisms. It emits a sweet and heady fragrance that is rare and precious. It derives its rarity from its very existence, from the trees of the genus Aquilaria. Indeed, agarwood arises from an interaction between the wood of those trees and associated microorganisms, which, after the trunk has been wounded, induce a reaction leading to the production of secondary compounds that give the wood its typical black coloration after oxidation. The compounds involved are mainly chromones and oxygenated sesquiterpenes, such as eudesmol, agarospirol, jinkoh-eremol and valerianol. Demand for agarwood on the international market has increased considerably over the last ten years or so. Its derivatives, including the essential oil extracted from it, are therefore expensive. Agarwood essential oil fetches US$ 5,000 to US$ 10,000 per kg, and is the most expensive oil on the market. That explains why this product is coveted by the owners of the trees, who attempt to compensate for its rarity by practising various agarwood induction methods. The methods, such as making holes or hammering nails into the trunks of the trees, or inoculating mixtures of biochemical products, are often harmful to the trees and detrimental to the composition of the essential oil extracted from them. Consequently, a consortium of farmers in French Guiana and scientists from CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development) is implementing the Aquil@Guyane project, designed to grow Aquilaria trees originating from Southeast Asia in French Guiana, with a view to producing agarwood with a controlled chemical composition that respects the biology and the ecology of the trees, while helping to conserve the genus Aquilaria, which is classed as being under threat of extinction (in CITES annex II) in its natural range. To that end, a biological induction trial was launched. Two induction methods were tested: a way of inducing black wood by environmental microorganisms, achieved by making wounds in the trunk, contaminated or not with soil from the plantation, and a second way of inducing black wood by fungal strains grown in the form of pure strains, selected for their wood-decay trait and because they are common fungi in French Guiana. For the second method, experiments were carried out specifically with brown-rot and whiterot fungi. In order to compare the two methods, we studied the area of inoculation propagation, the volatile compounds making up the essential oils extracted from the blackened wood, and essential oil yields. We were thus able to show that the second black wood induction method was effective in producing agarwood with a controlled chemical composition and a yield that seemed to be better that the usual commercial yield. It should be noted that white-rot fungi, especially Ganoderma resinaceum, Gloeophyllum trabeum and Pycnoporus sanguineus, proved to be the most effective for induction, for the quality of the chemical composition, and for essential oil yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incense tree Aquilaria sinensis (Thymelaeaceae) can produce agarwood with commercial values and is now under threat from illegal exploitation in Hong Kong, impairing the local population and biodiversity. Together with other species of Aquilaria, it is listed in the CITES Appendix II, which strictly regulates its international trade. To understand the population structure of A. sinensis and to make relevant conservation measures, we have sequenced 346 individuals collected in Hong Kong and southern mainland China. Population genomic analyses including principal component analysis, neighbor-joining tree construction, ADMIXTURE, and hierarchical pairwise-FST analyses suggested that genetically distinct populations are contained in certain areas. Genomic scan analyses further detected single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) outliers related to plant defense, including the CYP71BE gene cluster. In addition to the population analyses, we have developed a modified hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) DNA extraction protocol for obtaining DNA from agarwood samples in this study, and resequencing of DNA extracted from two agarwood samples using this method allows us to successfully map to the sample corresponding localities in the phylogenetic tree. To sum up, this study suggested that there is a genetically distinct subpopulation of incense tree in Hong Kong that would require special conservation measures and established a foundation for future conservation measures.

Agarwood is originated from the resinous part of Aquilaria and Gyrinops plants and has been a precious biomaterial for applications in traditional medicine, perfumery, cosmetics, and religious purposes all over the world. In the wild, the formation of agarwood is related to the defense mechanism of the tree in response to physical damage that allows further microbial infestation into its wood, while having the whole tree covered with agarwood would take up a long time, and it rarely happens. For Aquilaria and Gyrinops, the presence of endophytes is mainly found derived from the tree. The isolated endophytes could be important sources of natural products, while some could contribute to the formation of agarwood in the tree, which is safe for the environment and human health. This review summarized the biodiversity of fungal endophytes recorded in Aquilaria and Gyrinops and their potential effects on host trees. Till now, 67 endophytic genera have been isolated from Aquilaria and Gyrinops, and 18 ones were found responsible for the promotion of agarwood formation. Additionally, 92 compounds have been reported to be produced by the agarwood endophytes, and 52 ones displayed biological activities, most of which have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer activities. Nevertheless, fungal endophytes are promising agents that deserved to be further studied and scaled up to a commercial level for the production of agarwood oil, but the role of endophytes in the agarwood host trees needs to be furtherly investigated in future studies.

The current study for the first time showed that agarwood resin formation in Aquilaria species could be induced by the mycotoxin-containing aqueous extracts of certain fungi. Volumes of 25, 50, and 100 mL of mycotoxin-containing extracts from the ASP-U strain of Aspergillus niger and the FUS-U strain of Fusarium solani were inoculated into Aquilaria crassna trees at 1 m intervals with three replicates. Resin production due to the extracts of ASP-U and FUS-U strains was restricted to ± 20 cm and ± 60 cm, respectively from the inoculation point after seven months and the color of the resinous agarwood varied from yellowishbrown to black. The differences in resin content formation due to the different inoculant volumes of ASP-U and FUS-U were statistically significant and the average resin contents varied from 0.89%4.44% and 1.24%9.20%, respectively. GC-MS analysis of the resin extracts detected 27 constituents responsible for the characteristic aroma of agarwood resin. Among them were phenyl butanone, agarofuran, agarospirol, ß-caryophyllene, alloaromadendrene oxide and (-) guaiene-1(10),11-diene-15-ol were found in all extracts. These compounds were common in commercially available agarwood induced by live fungal species. Hence, the study demonstrated that mycotoxin extracts from specific fungal strains could be used for agarwood production in Aquilaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood, popularly known as oudh or gaharu, is a fragrant resinous wood of high commercial value, traded worldwide and primarily used for its distinctive fragrance in incense, perfumes, and medicine. This fragrant wood is created when Aquilaria trees are wounded and infected by fungi, producing resin as a defense mechanism. The depletion of natural agarwood caused by overharvesting amidst increasing demand has caused this fragrant defensive resin of endangered Aquilaria to become a rare and valuable commodity. Given that instances of natural infection are quite low, artificial induction, including biological inoculation, is being conducted to induce agarwood formation. A long-term investigation could unravel insights contributing toward Aquilaria being sustainably cultivated. This review will look at the different methods of induction, including physical, chemical, and biological, and compare the production, yield, and quality of such treatments with naturally formed agarwood. Pharmaceutical properties and medicinal benefits of fragrance-associated compounds such as chromones and terpenoids are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood, resin produced by wounded Aquilaria plants, is widely used in perfume and medicine. In this study, artificial agarwood induced by physical injury, chemical stimulation, fungal infection, and comprehensive stimulation, which are the common induction methods, was collected. After gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis, the total ion chromatogram/mass ion chromatogram (TIC/MIC) and qualitative peak data from artificial agarwood were used as training sets in discriminant analysis to examine the formation modes of natural agarwood by a random forest model which was shown to be superior to discriminate the formation of natural agarwood. The results implied that natural agarwood is likely formed through four formation modes. The discriminant result from random forest model showed that 17.1% of natural agarwood samples were formed by physical injury, 22.9% by chemical stimulation, 2.9% by fungal infection, and 57.1% by comprehensive stimulation. 2-Butanone-4-phenyl-, benzenepropanoic acid, guaiol, baimuxinal, and 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromone were the main chemical markers of the agarwood. The apparent abundance from the GC–MS fingerprints was used to distinguish agarwood formed by different formation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aquilaria is one of the plant genus-producing agarwood. Aquilaria leaves have pharmacological effects which the potential to be processed into black tea. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of fermentation duration on physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics of Aquilaria leaves tea. This study employed a Completely Randomized Design with two factors; the plant species (A. crassna, A. malaccensis, and A. subintegra) and fermentation duration (0 minutes, 70 minutes, and 90 minutes). Parameters analyzed including water content, total phenol, and antioxidant activity. Organoleptic tests were performed on the color, taste, and aroma of the brewed tea. The results summarized that A. subintegra had the highest total phenol and antioxidant activity, but the taste of the tea was not favored. A. crassna fermented 70 minutes and A. malaccensis fermented 0 minutes were the most preferred, but both have lower total phenol and antioxidant activity than A. subintegra. Keywords: Aquilaria , Antioxidant activity, Organoleptic test, Tea, Total phenol

Agarwood is a renowned fragrant non-timber wood product primarily originating from the Indo-Malesia region. It also plays a pivotal role in the global industry due to its economic and cultural significance. As a response to illegal harvesting and trade activities leading to declining populations, all agarwood-producing species have progressively been incorporated into CITES Appendix II. We conducted an in-depth investigation into the temporal dynamics of the scientific literature pertaining to agarwood in this study. The evolving trends in agarwood research and the influence of CITES listing on publication numbers were elucidated by utilizing a bibliometric approach. The quantity of research activity was leveraged as an indicator of the engagement of a country, and the status of agarwood research before and after the CITES listing was analyzed. A rigorous selection process yielded 704 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) core database and 1,054 articles from Scopus, using four specific keywords: "agarwood," "Aquilaria," "Gyrinops," and "gaharu," spanning the years 1995-2022. A notable upswing in the number of scientific publications following the implementation of the CITES listing was identified, while China has been the leading country in most publications and research work since 2009 and 2008 based on WoS and Scopus, respectively. The journal "Molecules" has received the most related articles over the years, and the most popular keyword used is "agarwood." China is also, so far, the country with the most related patents filed. The trending research topics based on the keywords from 2021 to 2022 would be studies related to pharmacological effects, understanding the mechanism of agarwood formation, exploring alternative agarwood-producing species from Gyrinops, and promoting sustainability in agarwood production. Furthermore, the discussion also covered potential research initiatives that could address the existing knowledge gaps in agarwood research up to the present moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood is a fragrant dark resin produced in plants belonging to the family Thyme-laeaceae and which has a high economic value. The unique fragrance and medicinal applications intensify the value of agarwood. The wild populations of agarwood trees are highly threatened by high economic demand. Therefore, it is worthwhile to develop an artificial agarwood induction technology for the countries that rely on agarwood from the natural habitat of the plants. Fungal induction of agarwood has been shown to be an efficient method. Interestingly, most of the fungi known from agarwood are endophytic. In this paper, we supplement and update the bioactivity of fungi associated with agarwood and their ability to induce agarwood formation. According to the existing literature, 59 endophytic fungal strains of 16 genera induce agarwood production, most of which belong to Fusarium (28 identified strains). Hence, Fusarium is a good candidate for further studies on fungal induced agarwood production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallic acid and quercetin equivalent were determined in the crude extract of matured leaves Aquilaria malaccensis and Aquilaria subintegra. The leaves of both Aquilaria species were dried at 60 °C for 24 hours, ground and sieved into particle size of 250, 300, 400, 500, and 1000 µm. Then, each particle size of leaves was soaked in distilled water with a ratio of 1:100 (w/v) for 24 hours and undergoes the pre-treatment method by using ultrasonicator (37 kHz), at the temperature of 60 °C for 30 minutes. The crude extracts were obtained after about 4 hours of hydrodistillation process. The highest concentration of gallic acid and quercetin equivalent was determined in the crude extract from the particle size of 250 µm. The kinetics of pancreatic lipase inhibition was further studied based using the Lineweaver-Burk plot, wherein the concentration of p-NPP as the substrate and pancreatic lipase were varied. Based on the formation of the lines in the plot, the crude leaves extract of both Aquilaria species exhibit the mixed-inhibition on pancreatic lipase, which indicates that in the reaction, the inhibitors were not only attached to the free pancreatic lipase, but also to the pancreatic lipase-(p-NPP) complex. The reaction mechanism was similar to non-competitive inhibition; however the value of dissociation constant, Ki, for both inhibition pathways was different. The inhibition shows an increment in Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) and a reduction in the maximum pancreatic lipase activity (Vm) compared to the reaction without Aquilaria spp. crude extracts (control). This proved that the inhibition occurred in this reaction. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

There are various sources concerning the manufacture of Indochinese paper at the be­ginning of the 20th century: articles published in colonial magazines by engineers or by industrial managers working in Indochina, photographs and postcards taken by the colonial services; the work of Henri Oger, administrator of the French civil services stationed in Hanoi between 1912 and 1919; and during a later period and Dard Hunter’s book published in 1947, following a trip he made to Indochina. These sources provide a fairly precise idea of paper production and its social organisation in the region. This article presents the production of paper in the northern part of present-day Vietnam. It attempts to show the links between the Chinese and Tonkinese paper making.

The incense culture in the Japanese archipelago dates back almost one and a half millennia in terms of its development since the discovery of the agarwood bar in 595 off the coast of Awaji Island. In a relatively short period of time, aromatic wood has gone from an exotic phenomenon of mainland culture into becoming one of Japan’s most important items of trade and economic relations with the countries of East Asia. The value of karamono (“things from China”) goods, which, among other things, included incense and tools for its burning, can hardly be overestimated: these were not merely “luxury goods” accessible to the privileged social classes, but rather full-fledged vehicles of continental culture influence. Aromatic wood was used in medicine, religious practices, and in everyday life. Over time, under the influence of Buddhism and the principles of aristocratic and samurai ideology, the use of incense turned not only into a traditional art, but also into a symbol of the national culture of Japan. Based on the analysis of written and artistic Japanese sources, as well as field studies, this article explores the classification of aromatic wood species of the agarwood tree (aquilaria), which played a key role in Japanese culture in the Middle Ages and the Modern Period. These classifications are still being used in assessing the quality of wood and wood products. Medieval Japanese masters invented ways of encoding aromas of fragrant wood through the characteristics of tastes and the place of growth of aromatic trees, as well as through the figurative, symbolic, and metaphorical meaning of each name.

Agarwood from Aquilaria plants, also known as Chen Xiang (沉香), is traditionally used for the treatment of abdominal pain and as a sedative. Because of the great demand and the rareness of agarwood, extensive harvesting of Aquilaria plants has nearly led to the extinction of the species. To fully utilize this resource, the use of different parts of Aquilaria needs to be investigated. This article will focus on the pharmacological properties and the mechanism of action of different parts of Aquilaria plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquilaria is a genus of about 20 species distributed mainly in the Indo-Malesian region. The genus Aquilaria belongs to the Thymelacaceae family of Indo-Malayan trees known for producing the world's most expensive oils, which are naturally occurring throughout the Philippines. Aquilaria is well known for the production of agarwood which is a highly wanted forest product of substantial economic value. In the Philippines, there is limited published information on the physical condition, habitat structure, and ecological threats of Aquilaria, which is a crucial factor to determine the optimum requirements to develop Aquilaria production system. Hence, this study was conceptualized to assess the habitat structure of Aquilaria as well as its conservation and ecological threats in the wild. Assessment, surveys and interview were conducted to gather on-site atmospheric data as well as ecological threats of Aquilaria in the wild. Soil collection was also gathered to analyzed soil properties. The results revealed that there were two species of Aquilaria documented in the study site, namely: A. malaccensis and A. cumingiana. Moreover, the soil chemical properties are not significant between different topographic expositions, but it is acidic and generally have low nutrient status. Furthermore, the conservation and ecological threats documented in the study site are unsustainable harvesting, a massive collection of regenerant, and inflecting damage of Aquilaria by punching nails or drilling holes in the trunk of standing mature tree. Therefore, it is highly recommended that Aquilaria should be protected, particularly A. malaccensis, since it is rare and considered a new record of occurrence to Leyte Island as one of the major findings of the study. The establishment of Aquilaria based production system is necessary as an option to reduce the rampant illegal poaching of agarwood in the wild but should be established on private land and registered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood, popularly known as oudh or gaharu, is a fragrant resinous wood of high commercial value, traded worldwide and primarily used for its distinctive fragrance in incense, perfumes, and medicine. This fragrant wood is created when Aquilaria trees are wounded and infected by fungi, producing resin as a defense mechanism. The depletion of natural agarwood caused by overharvesting amidst increasing demand has caused this fragrant defensive resin of endangered Aquilaria to become a rare and valuable commodity. Given that instances of natural infection are quite low, artificial induction, including biological inoculation, is being conducted to induce agarwood formation. A long-term investigation could unravel insights contributing toward Aquilaria being sustainably cultivated. This review will look at the different methods of induction, including physical, chemical, and biological, and compare the production, yield, and quality of such treatments with naturally formed agarwood. Pharmaceutical properties and medicinal benefits of fragrance-associated compounds such as chromones and terpenoids are also discussed.

Agarwood is a fragrant dark resin produced in plants belonging to the family Thyme-laeaceae and which has a high economic value. The unique fragrance and medicinal applications intensify the value of agarwood. The wild populations of agarwood trees are highly threatened by high economic demand. Therefore, it is worthwhile to develop an artificial agarwood induction technology for the countries that rely on agarwood from the natural habitat of the plants. Fungal induction of agarwood has been shown to be an efficient method. Interestingly, most of the fungi known from agarwood are endophytic. In this paper, we supplement and update the bioactivity of fungi associated with agarwood and their ability to induce agarwood formation. According to the existing literature, 59 endophytic fungal strains of 16 genera induce agarwood production, most of which belong to Fusarium (28 identified strains). Hence, Fusarium is a good candidate for further studies on fungal induced agarwood production.

Gallic acid and quercetin equivalent were determined in the crude extract of matured leaves Aquilaria malaccensis and Aquilaria subintegra. The leaves of both Aquilaria species were dried at 60 °C for 24 hours, ground and sieved into particle size of 250, 300, 400, 500, and 1000 μm. Then, each particle size of leaves was soaked in distilled water with a ratio of 1:100 (w/v) for 24 hours and undergoes the pretreatment method by using ultrasonicator (37 kHz), at the temperature of 60 °C for 30 minutes. The crude extracts were obtained after about 4 hours of hydrodistillation process. The highest concentration of gallic acid and quercetin equivalent was determined in the crude extract from the particle size of 250 μm. The kinetics of pancreatic lipase inhibition was further studied based using the Lineweaver- Burk plot, wherein the concentration of p-NPP as the substrate and pancreatic lipase were varied. Based on the formation of the lines in the plot, the crude leaves extract of both Aquilaria species exhibit the mixed-inhibition on pancreatic lipase, which indicates that in the reaction, the inhibitors were not only attached to the free pancreatic lipase, but also to the pancreatic lipase-(p-NPP) complex. The reaction mechanism was similar to non-competitive inhibition; however the value of dissociation constant, Ki, for both inhibition pathways was different. The inhibition shows an increment in Michaelis- Menten constant (Km) and a reduction in the maximum pancreatic lipase activity (Vm) compared to the reaction without Aquilaria spp. crude extracts (control). This proved that the inhibition occurred in this reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current review article, the studies conducted to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of Aquilaria species are compiled and summarized. Since inflammation is the underlying cause of many diseases, the encounter of effective and safe biomedical anti-inflammatory compounds has become the focus of recent researches. Aquilaria species were known to possess a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, among which anti-inflammatory activity has been reported in many in vitro and in vivo studies. Chromones, sesquiterpenoids, flavonoids, benzophenones and phorbol esters were the major anti-inflammatory compounds isolated from Aquilaria species. The objective of this review paper is to extend researches on the anti-inflammatory activity of different parts of Aquilaria species and support their future use in natural pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of inflammation-associated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquilaria tree species are naturally distributed in the Indomalesian region and are protected against over-exploitation. They produce a fragrant non-timber product of high economic value, agarwood. Ambiguous species delimitation and limited genetic information within Aquilaria are among the impediments to conservation efforts. In this study, we conducted comparative analysis on eight Aquilaria species complete chloroplast (cp) genomes, of which seven were newly sequenced using Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform followed by de novo assembly. Aquilaria cp genomes possess a typical quadripartite structure including gene order and genomic structure. The length of each of the cp genome is about 174 kbp and encoded between 89 and 92 proteins, 38 tRNAs, and 8 rRNAs, with 27 duplicated in the IR (inverted repeat) region. Besides, 832 repeats (forward, reverse, palindrome and complement repeats) and nine highly variable regions were also identified. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that the topology structure of Aquilaria cp genomes were well presented with strong support values based on the cp genomes data set and matches their geographic distribution pattern. In summary, the complete cp genomes will facilitate development of species-specific molecular tools to discriminate Aquilaria species and resolve the evolutionary relationships of members of the Thymelaeaceae family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees in the genus Aquilaria (Thymelaeaceae) are known as lign aloes, and are native to the forests of southeast Asia. Lign aloes produce agarwood as an antimicrobial defence. Agarwood has a long history of cultural and medicinal use, and is of considerable commercial value. However, due to habitat destruction and over collection, lign aloes are threatened in the wild. We present a chromosomal‐level assembly for Aquilaria sinensis, a lign aloe endemic to China known as the incense tree, based on Illumina short‐read, 10X Genomics linked‐read, and Hi‐C sequencing data. Our 783.8 Mbp A. sinensis genome assembly is of high physical contiguity, with a scaffold N50 of 87.6 Mbp, and high completeness, with a 95.8% BUSCO score for eudicotyledon genes. We include 17 transcriptomes from various plant tissues, providing a total of 35,965 gene models. We reveal the first complete set of genes involved in sesquiterpenoid production, plant defence, and agarwood production for the genus Aquilaria, including genes involved in the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids via the mevalonic acid (MVA), 1‐deoxy‐D‐xylulose‐5‐phosphate (DXP), and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. We perform a detailed repeat content analysis, revealing that transposable elements account for ~61% of the genome, with major contributions from gypsy‐like and copia‐like LTR retroelements. We also provide a comparative analysis of repeat content across sequenced species in the order Malvales. Our study reveals the first chromosomal‐level genome assembly for a tree in the genus Aquilaria and provides an unprecedented opportunity to address a variety of applied, genomic and evolutionary questions in the Thymelaeaceae more widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood has been used as an incense and in traditional medicines as aphrodisiac, sedative, cardiotonic, and carminative. In this study, five new 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones (2, 13–16) and eleven known compounds (1, 3–12) were isolated from the agarwood. The structures of the new compounds were determined by 1H-, 13C-, and two-dimensional NMR together with electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy. All isolated compounds were evaluated for the phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3A and 5A1 inhibitory activity by the fluorescence polarization method. Dimeric 2-(2-phenylehyl)chromones (13, 14, 16) had potent inhibitory activity to PDE 5A1 with IC50 values of micro molar range (13: 4.2 μM, 14: 7.9 μM, 16: 4.3 μM), whereas they had weak activity to PDE 3A. In contrast, compound (15), which has a phenylpropionic acid moiety instead of the 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone moiety in the dimers, showed moderate inhibition of both PDE 3A (IC50: 42.6 μM) and PDE 5A1 (IC50: 15.1 μM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood or gaharu is well known as the most valuable resinous heartwood that occurs in trees of Aquilaria species. Depletion of the wild resource from the jungle leads to the high price of agarwood. Thus, there is an urgent need to produce agarwood sustainably through agarwood cultivation to meet the global demand and induction. This research was conducted to formulate microbial consortia that can be used as fungal inoculants for agarwood induction in Aquilaria species. The effectiveness of formulated microbial consortia was observed based on the colour and mean length of infected zone formation after a three and six months inoculation periods in each wet and dry season, respectively. Aquilaria sp. was inoculated with three types of formulated fungal inoculants and negative control by using the bottle drip method. The findings showed that F3 inoculant (a combination of Trichoderma sp., Lasiodiplodia sp. and Curvularia sp.) was the most potential fungal inoculant for agarwood formation based on the darkest colour and largest mean length of the infected zone, after a three and six months inoculation periods for both wet and dry seasons. The formulated inoculant is recommended for further development as agarwood fungal inoculant to induce agarwood artificially for future sustainable supply of agarwood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree species in the Aquilarieae tribe of the Thymelaeaceae family produce agarwood, a natural product highly valued for its fragrance, but the species are under threat due to indiscriminate harvesting. For conservation of these species, molecular techniques such as DNA profiling have been used. In this study, we assessed cross-amplification of microsatellite markers, initially developed for three Aquilaria species (A.crassna, A.malaccensis, and A.sinensis), on ten other agarwood-producing species, including members of Aquilaria (A.beccariana, A.hirta, A.microcarpa, A.rostrata, A.rugosa, A.subintegra, and A.yunnanensis) and Gyrinops (G.caudata, G.versteegii, and G.walla), both from the Aquilarieae tribe. Primers for 18 out of the 30 microsatellite markers successfully amplified bands of expected sizes in 1 sample each of at least 10 species. These were further used to genotype 74 individuals representing all the 13 studied species, yielding 13 cross-amplifiable markers, of which only 1 being polymorphic across all species. At each locus, the number of alleles ranged from 7 to 23, indicating a rather high variability. Four markers had relatively high species discrimination power. Our results demonstrated that genetic fingerprinting can be an effective tool in helping to manage agarwood genetic resources by potentially supporting the chain-of-custody of agarwood and its products in the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood is a type of resinous wood found in the trunks of Aquilaria and some other genera. It is widely used as an herbal medicine for sedation, detoxification, and treatment of stomachaches, as well as for incense sticks. However, the number of source plants is decreasing, and in 2005, they were added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). To identify source species of agarwood, we previously developed a DNA-barcoding method using resin deposition sites. In this study, to identify additional agarwood source species, the barcoding method was applied to source plants and commercial agarwood samples collected from Sumbawa, Lombok, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan in Indonesia, a major agarwood-producing country. In addition, the method was also applied to incense stick samples labeled as agarwood. As a result, several samples were identified as Gyrinops, which is not currently listed as an agarwood source plant in the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs 2018 (Non-JPS 2018). From the viewpoint of securing future resources, these findings suggest that Gyrinops species should, therefore, be added to the list of agarwood source species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood (Aquilaria spp.) fragrance and its origin in stress make it probably the most suitable model to study stress-induced aroma. Production being confined only to certain small pockets of South and Southeast Asia, agarwood is arguably the costliest wood in the world. Formation of fragrant agarwood resin is the outcome of complex biotic, abiotic, and physical stress on the Aquilaria trees. The intricate mechanism by which some 150 odd fragrant molecules that constitute agarwood aroma is formed is still not clearly understood. The present review therefore aims to bring to focus this less known but highly valuable stress-induced aroma from Asia. Discussions on agarwood species, occurrence, distribution, formation, and products have been included as foundation. Although global trade in agarwood and its products is estimated at US$6 billion to US$8 billion, no reliable data are readily available in literature. Therefore, an effort has been made to review the current status of agarwood trade. The element of stress and its correlation to agarwood aroma is discussed in the subsequent sections. Natural agarwood formation as well as technologies and interventions in agarwood induction are stress-based (natural and artificial injury, insect and fungal attack, chemical induction). The molecular triggers are gradually coming to light as new studies are implicating jasmonate, LOX signaling, and other stress reaction routes as the source of agarwood aroma. This review therefore has strived to compile the information that is scattered across scientific as well as other authentic literature and update the reader on the current status. More information about the specific roles of other vital stressors like insects, abiotic, and genetic factors is eagerly awaited from ongoing and future research to further understand the unique fragrance of agarwood.

Aquilaria yunnanensis S.C. Huang (Thymelaeaceae), known to be endemic to Yunnan, is recorded for the first time from Dong Son Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. A taxonomic description and DNA analysis based on our Vietnamese collections are presented, together with information on its distribution, habitat and colour photographs.

Agarwood is a resinous part of the non-timber Aquilaria tree, which is a highly valuable product for medicine and fragrance purposes. To protect the endangered Aquilaria species, mass plantation of Aquilaria trees has become a sustainable way in Asian countries to obtain the highly valuable agarwood. As only physiologically triggered Aquilaria tree can produce agarwood, effective induction methods are long sought in the agarwood industry. In this paper, we attempt to provide an overview for the past efforts toward the understanding of agarwood formation, the evolvement of induction methods and their further development prospects by integrating it with high-throughput omics approaches.

Fungi from tropical regions are currently under-represented in the classification system. Indeed, difficult access to tropical forests makes it complicated to study fungus species in such environments, unlike in European zones where fungal diversity and taxonomy are much better known. The purposes of this work were: a) to enhance classification by integrating new data that would bring out the importance of certain traits of these fungi, and provide a clearer understanding of how the biodiversity of fungi from the forest ecosystems of French Guiana is organized, particularly those causing wood decay through white rot, brown rot or soft rot; b) to establish a collection of fungal isolates from fruiting bodies collected in French Guiana. This taxonomic study based on sequences of the small subunit (SSU) of ribosomal (r) DNA using the two primer pairs, SR6/SR10R and SR7/SR1R, was carried out on 39 fungus fruiting bodies from Cacao and Régina, in French Guiana. Our protocol enabled extraction, with good repeatability, of fungal DNA from a few mg of pure mycelium. With most of the strains studied we were able to obtain PCR products ranging in size from 376 to 625 base pairs. This study enabled to specify the taxa involved wood decay: 39 species were identified by BlastN. Most of them, in the class of the Basidiomycetes, were the main genera were found, such as Antrodia, Coriolopsis, Fomitopsis, Ganoderma, Poria, Lentinus, Pycnoporus, Auricularia, Gloeophyllum, Trametes, Fomitopsis, Rigidoporus. In addition to the above objectives, the production of pure mycelium from fruiting bodies identified in this study will be used to produce inoculum to test the ability of these fungal species in stimulating oleoresin production in Aquilaria trees from plantation established in French Guyana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood (Aquilaria spp.) fragrance and its origin in stress make it probably the most suitable model to study stress-induced aroma. Production being confined only to certain small pockets of South and Southeast Asia, agarwood is arguably the costliest wood in the world. Formation of fragrant agarwood resin is the outcome of complex biotic, abiotic, and physical stress on the Aquilaria trees. The intricate mechanism by which some 150 odd fragrant molecules that constitute agarwood aroma is formed is still not clearly understood. The present review therefore aims to bring to focus this less known but highly valuable stress-induced aroma from Asia. Discussions on agarwood species, occurrence, distribution, formation, and products have been included as foundation. Although global trade in agarwood and its products is estimated at US$6 billion to US$8 billion, no reliable data are readily available in literature. Therefore, an effort has been made to review the current status of agarwood trade. The element of stress and its correlation to agarwood aroma is discussed in the subsequent sections. Natural agarwood formation as well as technologies and interventions in agarwood induction are stress-based (natural and artificial injury, insect and fungal attack, chemical induction). The molecular triggers are gradually coming to light as new studies are implicating jasmonate, LOX signaling, and other stress reaction routes as the source of agarwood aroma. This review therefore has strived to compile the information that is scattered across scientific as well as other authentic literature and update the reader on the current status. More information about the specific roles of other vital stressors like insects, abiotic, and genetic factors is eagerly awaited from ongoing and future research to further understand the unique fragrance of agarwood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhopalomastix is a myrmicine ant distributed throughout tropical parts of Asia, with almost nothing known about its biology. Its closest relative Melissotarsus in Africa is the only ant genus known to live with diaspidid scale insects inside their nests, and to rely on these for food. Twelve colonies of four species of Rhopalomastix were sampled from seven tree genera in Singapore. Ants chewed tunnels under live bark, and these were occupied by many diaspidids belonging to five genera; at least two species are known to also live freely on the outside of trees. Inside ant nests, only a few diaspidids secreted their trademark shields. The association with the pupillarial Fiorinia is unexpected, since they have fewer secretions that can be used as food by the ants. Rhopalomastix and Melissotarsus workers share several morphological adaptations, including powerful mandibles and silk glands, but while the legs of Melissotarsus are modified for traction during tunnelling, those of Rhopalomastix are not. Consequently, Rhopalomastix workers are able to walk outside their tunnels, but they behaved timidly except in R. murphyi. Silk was used to repair damaged tunnels, and the spinning behaviour resembled that of Melissotarsus. Host trees do not gain protection from the ants against leaf herbivores, so they apparently get no benefits from this mutualism. We discuss the likely economic impact of this parasitic lifestyle, especially on fruit trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Agarwood, a non-timber fragrant wood, is produced in wounded Aquilaria trees and widely used in perfume, incense, and medicine. Sesquiterpene is one of its main active compounds. It has been demonstrated that hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) plays a role in promoting agarwood sesquiterpene biosynthesis, but little is known about its signaling pathway. In this study, the pruning of actively growing saplings of A. sinensis resulted in an H 2 O 2 burst and the accumulation of jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), and ethylene (ET), which was followed by the up-regulation of sesquiterpene synthase and the production of sesquiterpene in the pruned stems. This process could be enhanced by absorbed H 2 O 2 and inhibited by an H 2 O 2 scavenger (ascorbate, AsA) in pruned stems, although the concentration of ET and transcription of ET-related synthase genes remained unaffected. These results confirmed that the H 2 O 2 burst in wounded stems triggered JA and SA accumulation to promote agarwood sesquiterpene biosynthesis. ET was also activated by injury that was independent with H 2 O 2. All results excavated a full-scale signaling transduction nets among multiple stress signals during wound-induced agarwood production in A. sinensis and provide a new insight into improving the artificial technology of agarwood production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood is a resinous part of the non-timber Aquilaria tree, which is a highly valuable product for medicine and fragrance purposes. To protect the endangered Aquilaria species, mass plantation of Aquilaria trees has become a sustainable way in Asian countries to obtain the highly valuable agarwood. As only physiologically triggered Aquilaria tree can produce agarwood, effective induction methods are long sought in the agarwood industry. In this paper, we attempt to provide an overview for the past efforts toward the understanding of agarwood formation, the evolvement of induction methods and their further development prospects by integrating it with high-throughput omics approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood, the resinous product of Aquilaria spp. (Thymelaeaceae), is highly valued for medicinal and fragrant purposes. Unsustainable forest harvesting contributes to the declining population in the wild, threatening their existence. As a protection effort, cultivation occurred in range countries, mainly in Asia, effectively establishing mass plantations. The success of domesticating Aquilaria relies heavily on technological advancement in agarwood induction, without which the entire thriving industry will collapse. In this paper, we describe efforts since 1929 and current progress and variation in induction as practiced in Asia. The methods include traditional practices and artificial induction via inoculum and chemical inducer, experimented and patented or otherwise. Artificial induction methods are being developed to intensify agarwood production in terms of yield and quality. While traditional methods are commonly applied by rural planters, artificial methods with the use of specific agents/chemicals are seen as more appealing for inducing agarwood, and have a higher demand from entrepreneurs and plantation owners. Several issues related to induction technology faced by stakeholders in agarwood cultivation are presented, such as safety levels, cost, yields, and quality. We conclude by highlighting remaining challenges in induction methods and their associated technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degenerative diseases have been considered as a major public health problem in many countries, thus, findingmedicines to treat these diseases without undesirable side effects is required. This study aimed to investigate the antidiabetic, anti-oxidation and cytotoxicity activities of the ethanolic extract of Aquilaria crassna leaves (ACE) and its active metabolite; mangiferin. The yeast α-glucosidase inhibitory assay was performed, and the IC50 of ACE and mangiferin were found to be 0.1840±0.0032 and 0.5714±0.0044 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, these samples were analyzedin term of the in vitro antioxidant activities using standard antioxidant assays. The results showed that ACE and mangiferin do possess anti-oxidant properties. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of ACE and mangiferin was also evaluated against three human cancer cell lines using MTT assay. The ACE could inhibit cell viability of MDA-MB-231; breast cancer cells (IC50 = 33.89±0.50 μg/mL) greater than HT-29; colorectal cancer cells (IC50 =51.74±1.42 μg/mL) and HepG2; hepatic cancer cells (IC50 = 53.63±1.54 μg/mL) Mangiferin could also reduce the viability of these three cell lines, but the IC50 was greater than 100 μg/mL. In conclusion, our findings may provide some evidence for understanding the indigenous use of A. crassna leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development and cross-amplification of microsatellites for Aquilaria sinensis, an endangered agarwood-producing tree. Topics mentioned include the importance of microsatellite markers for the provenience identification and genetic resource management of the tree, use of restriction site-associated DNA sequencing method to obtain the whole genome DNA sequences of the tree, and calculation of genetic diversity parameters and allelic richness.

Introduction: Agarwood is a type of wood that is used in traditional Thai medicines and has been applied in several recipes; in particular, this wood is considered as a costly resinous nonwood product. However, the morphological characteristics of the plant in the genus Aquilaria are quite similar, and so the authentication steps need a botanical expert for the purposes of identification and then also require an efficient tool for species-level discrimination. DNA barcoding is an approved molecular technique which uses a short sequence as a barcoding region specific for identified species. Materials and Methods: In this study, we established the DNA barcoding sequences from six candidate of barcoding loci (ITS, matK, rbcL, rpoC1, psbA-trnH intergenic spacer, and ycf1) from three species of Aquilaria, and the outgroup (Enkleia siamensis (Kurz) Nervling). The phylogenetic tree of each locus was reconstructed and the genetic distances were also determined using a maximum likelihood method. Results: Our results showed that all samples in each locus were successfully amplified and sequenced with universal primers. The ITS was only performed with suitable markers for Aquilaria species identification, which were considered from ML phylogenetic tree reconstruction and the optimum length of genetic distance. Other cpDNA barcoding regions; matK, rbcL, rpoC1, ycf1 and trnHpsbA, showed lower discrimination power, so these loci were deemed inappropriate for species identification. Notwithstanding, each barcoding locus can be suitable for genus discrimination in the Thymelaeaceae family. Conclusion: From our findings, DNA barcoding is able to be used as an efficient and reliable tool in Aquilaria species authentication, which can be applied for quality control in the agarwood in the global market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollination and seed dispersal in angiosperms have long been investigated in order to understand the coevolution of plants and animals. However, the signals from flowers and/or seeds to attract pollinators and/or seed dispersers have received comparatively little attention. In this study, the pollination biology and seed dispersal of the vulnerable agarwood plant Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg, a traditional medicinal plant in China, was studied in its natural distribution range. The reproductive tactics of A. sinensis were studied in detail by employing various tests dealing with fruit set and also seed dispersal. Dynamic headspace extraction followed by GC-MS analysis was also performed in order to reveal the composition of floral scent. The results showed that noctuids and pyralids are the most effective pollinators of pollinator-dependent A. sinensis. The main compounds of the floral scent were (E, E)-α-Farnesene (61.9 ± 3.2%), trans-Ocimene (16.6 ± 1.2%), and Benzyl salicylate (4.6 ± 1.1%). The results obtained from seed dispersal experiments indicate that hornets are effective seed dispersers and they may play an important role in long-distance seed dispersal of A. sinensis. Based on our findings, we recommend several protection methods for this threatened agarwood plant in China.